Bruce Cassidy started Boston’s practice on Tuesday by giving his forward lines half the rink for some 3-on-3 shinny, a chance for open ice and maybe some fun.

A good call, because little of this series with the Maple Leafs has been enjoyable to date, particularly the Perfection Line of Brad Marchand, Patrice Bergeron and David Pastrnak. With the exception of first-period goals in Games 1 and 2, the trio that caused the Leafs so many fits last spring has been under wraps, mostly butting heads against John Tavares, Mitch Marner and Zach Hyman.

After contemplating breaking them up after Toronto took the series lead on Monday with a 3-2 win, Cassidy kept them together when the Bruins assembled at Coca-Cola Coliseum.

“We met with them today and went over a few things,” Cassidy revealed. “I think they recognize where they’ve left some offence on the table. It hasn’t been much of a line-rush, offensive series since the first game.

“They’ve done a good job limiting Marner and Tavares. It’s been a bit of a battle that way, two good offensive lines playing good defensively, (but the three Bruins) can’t seem to get it going offensively.”

Cassidy thinks they need the positive reinforcement — “the juice” — that some power-play goals can bring heading into Game 4 on Wednesday. The line did net one in Game 1, the team’s only goal, and another in Game 2 at the end when the dispirited Leafs were killing the major penalty to Nazem Kadri. Their Game 3 goal came from Charlie Coyle and the second man-advantage unit.

“They didn’t have it last night,” agreed Cassidy. “Their zone entries weren’t very good, they were out of sync, we lost patience. We have to get it back on track. We have a check list of plays we run through.

“If we can stick to what we do and make minor adjustments … you have to manage the puck no matter who you play. I think that was on us last night. Sometimes you have to give them credit and, certainly, their kill was good, but part of it was self-inflicted.”

Cassidy thought the Tavares line was “reloading well” in the Toronto zone to create opportunity off the rush.

“They’re not allowing us to hit late guys who turn up or get inside ice. It’s a good matchup, I don’t mind it.”

Bergeron said his group will simply have to do better to pick their way through the coverage and Toronto’s defence to get a few more tries at beating Frederik Andersen.

“We’ve been in similar situations before and relied on experience,” said Bergeron. “We believe in ourselves, we know we’ve got a good team and a good line. We were expecting a matchup like that, we were expecting a tight game. We’ve found ways all year. That’s part of the job, that’s what hockey is about.”

Cassidy praised Bergeron for often recognizing when his linemates need a few bolts tightened and addressing it before the staff steps in. To use a Jon Cooper-ism from the distraught coach of the Tampa Bay Lightning, Cassidy said the off-ice huddle with the first line “isn’t some five-alarm fire. We just want to get them back on the same page. They like structure, they crave it, and then they add that to their creativity. It’s a simple re-visiting of basics — ‘what can we do against Toronto?’ ”

Momentum has swung with every game so far in the series and now Boston is expected to have more urgency on Wednesday to avoid a 3-1 series deficit going home. That could be supplied by the return of third-liner Marcus Johansson, who has been ill with the flu. He was in David Backes’ spot on Tuesday.

“It looks like he has some colour again,” Cassidy said after Johansson made it through a 45-minute practice. “But until he shows up healthy tomorrow, it will be a game-time decision.”

In no way are the Leafs thinking they’ve solved the Bergeron line. Many recall too vividly how the stalwarts had three goals and four assists in Game 7 last spring and nine goals and 21 assists in that series.

In 2013, it was Bergeron scoring with 51 seconds remaining in regulation at TD Garden to complete a three-goal comeback and later win it in overtime.

AMERICAN ANTHEM IDOL

For 10 minutes every Bruins game night, Todd Angilly takes a break from bartending up in the TD Garden SportsDeck and hops an elevator.

Not for coffee or some fresh air, but to change into a suit and tie, stride on the ice and belt out The Star-Spangled Banner and O Canada to raucous fans in a sold-out rink. The classically trained opera singer has emerged as the favourite to be the full-time replacement for Rene Rancourt, who finally retired from fist-pumping his way through the anthems after 40 years last April.

With his stout frame and booming voice, the 44-year-old Angilly has performed in close to half of the Bruins’ games this season and is now on the national stage with the Toronto series watched across the U.S. and by hundreds of thousands in the north.

“I’ve never had this kind of experience, to carry on a tradition,” Angilly said as fans milled around the bar before Game 2. “Rene had his thing, I have mine, and I’m still trying to pay homage to him.

“I really do enjoy singing your anthem. I’ll get Facebook messages from Canada, people saying, ‘Thank you for doing it right’. One person called me out (for not using the version with ‘all thy sons command’), but I said ‘No, your government changed the words’. ”

Auditions to replace Rancourt began in August. Out of 600 contenders, Angilly is among the few who have checked all the boxes. He’s a local (Warwick, R.I.), loved watching the Bruins’ farm team in Providence and graduated from Boston’s New England Conservatory of Music. He also works as a parole officer in state Superior Court in Salem and as a church cantor in Quincy.

He has become so intrinsic to Bruins game operations that when there was a Game 1 elevator failure, a security detail was hastily sent for him.

“I’m just a singer, but being out there and hearing that crowd react, it’s almost like I’m part of the action. I like to think I’m in the running (for the permanent gig), but even if I don’t do any more games, I have some great memories. Who’s luckier than me?”

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